


Chords Of Love

by MsMaXimus



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi Keiji is a Good Friend, Bokuto Koutarou is a Good Friend, F/M, Kuroo Tetsurou can be dumb, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Little Shit, Music, Oc is so done, Slow Burn, Volleyball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:14:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsMaXimus/pseuds/MsMaXimus
Summary: Sadine was accustomed to moving every few years, her dad's job required it. It was because of this she never bother to get close to people. She delved into her books and more importantly her music the only comforts she had as she moved around the world. Now going in Japan she only has to make it two years before she can finally settle down in one place permanently. She knows in her heart it'll be Japan, so maybe, just maybe, she'll make some friends that'll last a lifetime.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Original Female Character(s), Bokuto Koutarou & Original Female Character(s), Kuroo Tetsurou/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. Bokuto is Running

The soft melody drifted down the empty hallways of the school. It was summer and the entire campus was empty, or rather it should’ve been empty. The school was filled with numerous volleyball players from around Tokyo. They were conducting their two week training camp at Nekoma. 

It was currently lunch time where most of the players were either taking a much needed break or finishing eating. They were given a two hour break to relax and eat, this was how two players from Fukorodani found themselves walking through the halls of the school. 

The horned owl, tilted his head as the soft melody hit his ears, peeking at his child like curiosity. He stopped trying to figure out the direction in which the sound was coming from catching the attention of his partner who stopped several feet in front of him with a curious look on his face as well. 

“What is it Bokuto?” Akaashi asked his friend who looked very much like his nickname at the moment. 

“Do you hear that?” Bokuto’s eyes suddenly settled in a direction behind Akaashi and he grinned. While Akaashi who didn’t seem to understand what he was referring to only raised a brow and watched as the overzealous Ace ran down the hall in the direction he was looking in. 

“Wait! Bokuto!” Akaashi yelled, but the taller male kept running, ignoring the plea of his setter. With a deep sigh, Akaashi calmly jogged after him. The further they went down the empty halls though the melody hit his ears and then he understood what had caught Bokuto’s attention. 

He turned the corner to see his Ace leaning against the door frame of an open door grinning into the room watching something, the melody that had been played was now much louder than before. He slowly stepped up beside him not wanting to make too much noise to disturb whoever or whatever was in the room making the beautiful music. 

What Akaashi saw inside surprised him, he had been expecting a teacher or even a recording but what his eyes were greeted with was a young woman in a Nekoma school uniform. Her delicate fingers moved over the strings of the large instrument that sat between her legs and rested on her shoulder as her right arm moved the large bow across the strings with practiced ease. He couldn’t see her eyes as they were closed with a soft smile gracing her features as she played. The soft black locks of hers were pulled back into a braid that rested over her free shoulder, strands fell loosely to frame her face. She was surprisingly beautiful in an foreign way, he could easily tell that she had very little, if any Japanese in her, from her features that gave off the European, American look. 

“We shouldn’t disturb her, Bokuto.” Bokuto’s gold eyes glanced at him with a confused look. 

“What are you talking about? She knows we’re here.” Akaashi blinked, as he looked back at the girl only to find her eyes looking directly at him before closing again, the melody not stopping as she continued to focus on the song she was playing from memory without a pause. 

Her eyes were startlingly, they were an icy blue, with silver flecks and a dark blue ring on the outer portion of the iris. They were beautiful, but there was something deep in those eyes that Akaashi could recognize anywhere. Loneliness, shown in the cold eyes and it was the same feeling her music was giving off as she played. 

“She looked up at me as soon as I opened the door but didn’t stop.” Bokuto shrugged as if it was the only sign he needed to continue to listen to the beautiful melody the girl was creating. “I’m not one for this type of music but she’s really good.” 

“She is,” Akaashi mumbled in reply just as the song came to an end and saw her calmly place her bow on the ground beside her. She shifted in her seat as she lifted her head from its slightly slouched position, her left hand moving off the strings they had just previously been dancing across. She clenched her hand into a fist causing the joints in her fingers to pop. 

Those sharp eyes opened once more to look at the two volleyball players with a grin on her face. 

“So? What did you think?” Her Japanese was good, even if she had a slight accent they could not place, but it was clear that she was fluent in the language. 

“That was amazing!! I heard you down the hall and I just had to see who was playing! I’ve never heard anything like that! And your fingers were moving so fast!” During his little speech Bokuto had started walking, well more like jumping into the room. His fist pumped with excitement as spoke. His eyes sparkled with interest, and the girl just chuckled smiling softly at the exuberant male. 

“Thank you, I didn’t expect anyone to be in this part of the school and I’m currently on break so I decided to play a little bit.” Her voice was sweet, but Akaashi had a feeling that it was due to the fondness she seemed to hold toward Bokuto and his childish behavior. Even if they just met, the loneliness he once saw was temporarily gone. He understood though, Bokuto had that effect on people that just brought out a different side of them than others. 

“What are you doing at school though? I thought classes were done.” Akaashi asked her, finally speaking up, moving into the classroom in a calm manner compared to his counterpart. 

She stood up from her chair grasping the neck of her instrument as she did so, while rubbing her neck in a sheepish fashion as she looked out the window to avoid the two. 

“Well I transferred about two weeks before the finals, so I’m having to take extra classes to make up for the work I missed the beginning of the year. I missed about a month of school between moving, since I was moving from out of the country.” A soft pink dusted her cheeks as she spoke. Then she suddenly blinked and her eyes widened as she looked back at the two. “I’m so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself!” 

She bowed slightly still holding the neck of her instrument, “I’m Anderson Sadine, please just call me Sadine, I’m not used to being called by my last name.” She was rambling, the boys noticed, they also noticed how easily her name came out of her mouth as well. 

“Hey! Hey! Hey! I’m Bokuto Kotaro, nice ta meet ya!” Bokuto excitedly yelled back at her, seemingly ignoring her rambling and putting her at ease once more as she laughed softly at him. 

“I’m Akaashi Kieji, It’s nice to meet you Sadine-san.” He bowed back at her which she quickly waved her free hand at him and blushed. 

“No need for the “san” Akaashi, uh, san?” She blinked and scrunched her brow in confusion unsure of how to address him properly. He couldn’t stop the chuckle that escape his mouth as he watched her. Bokuto himself was chuckling as well. 

“Kieji is fine,” He returned with his own soft smile as the beautiful girl who relaxed. Her eyes trailed to Bokuto who was grinning at her his hands on his hips. 

“I’m going to call you Say-say,” He decided matter of factly, and Sadine only laughed in returned. 

“Then can I call you Koko? Like Chocolate? Because you seem awfully sweet.” Bokuto blushed at her and rubbed the back of his neck looking away from her as he bit his lip while nodding, and Akaashi just snickered quietly to himself. 

“T-that’s fine.” Sheepish Bokuto was cute, Sadine decided as she chuckled behind her hand. 

She moved, as she smiled grabbing her instrument and moving to the open case that was on the floor. The boys could tell just by looking at the instrument that it was heavy by the way she grunted when lifting it up but that didn’t stop her from playing it delicately with care into the black case. Akaashi walked over, grabbing the bow she had left on the ground beside the chair she had been sitting in grabbing it before handing it to her. 

“Is that a Cello?” He asked as she took the bow from his hands. 

“Yea, it’s my favorite to play. It has a wide range of notes, compared to other instruments that can only go to a...never mind you don’t understand what I’m saying.” She laughed as she thought about what she was about to say to him. 

“I understand some, music isn’t really my specialty, I’m more into drawing and volleyball.” He calmly returned. Neither of them noticed Bokuto coming to sit on the desk near her as he watched the two. 

“Akaashi is a really good drawer, I wish I could do that.” Sadine turned to him and blinked, her eyebrow scrunched in slight confusion.

“But aren’t you like...what’s the word….the Ace of your team?” Now it was their turn to blink, she knew what position he played? They thought in unison. 

“Wait, you know who I am?” Bokuto was excited now, and she chuckled once more. 

“Not exactly, I heard one of the guys in my class mention your name and that you were the Ace. He’s on the volleyball team.” She finished her statement by zipping her case closed, and standing back up. 

“Who is it?” Akaashi asked. 

“Kuroo Tetsuro, don’t bother asking him about me, we’ve never talked. I just listen to people.” She mumbled, reaching over to her bag that sat on a nearby desk and pulling out a banana milk. 

“You don’t have any friends here do you?” Akaashi asked, even though he knew it sounded rude that was not in any way his intention he was curious. 

She paused with the straw of her milk just barely touching her lips, Bokuto’s gold eyes were focused on her in confusion. He had barely known her for thirty minutes and he could already tell that she was nice, so the question caught him off guard and confused him. 

“Ah...no. They don’t know I can speak Japanese. Well aside from the teachers. Most people just ignore me to be honest. It’s not my first time living in a foreign country and being left out because they assume I don’t know the language.” She took a sip of her drink as she paused. “Plus I’m not really into the falsities that come with being a new student so the less people the better. They tend to become “friends” with the new person for the novelty. I’d rather wait it out and then try and make genuine friends later.” 

“Wait, so you’re a second year, and in that cat’s class? You must be smart as hell to be in his class.” Bokuto tilted his head. “I guess the other stuff makes sense but it just seems kinda lonely.” 

She shrugged, “I move countries every two to three years due to my father’s job, it’s really nothing new to me. It’s one of those I’ve played this game before and I know how it goes. So I take my time. I have a year and a half before I graduate and that gives me plenty of time to make friends.” 

“Won’t you be moving back to where you come from after you graduate?” Akaashi asked her, glancing at his phone to check the time, they had twenty minutes before they had to be back in the gym. 

“No, I’ve always loved Japan, and they have a really good music school here that I would love to go to. I’d rather stay here to be honest and have a stable foundation rather than living the life of constantly moving like my father.” 

“Where are you from Say-say? You’re Japanese is amazing.” Bokuto commented grinning at the girl as she blushed at his compliment. 

“I’m from America and thanks….I’ve been speaking Japanese since I was four.” Both men blinked once more, this girl was full of surprises. 

“Since you were four?” Bokuto blinked owlishly tilting his head. 

“My father is an interpreter for the US embassy so he moves around, he knows like nine different languages and made sure that I was well rounded as we moved around. Each week at my house we speak a different language so he doesn’t lose his knowledge.” 

That was honestly, impressive, Akaashi thought. He could only imagine how many different languages she was fluent in. 

“I have to go back to class guys,” She said as she looked at the clock on the wall, noticing she had ten minutes before her class started back up. She leaned down to grab her massive case, before reaching over and grabbing her bag and strapping it on her shoulder. “It was nice meeting you.” 

Bokuto shot up quickly, grabbing the heavy case from her hands with a grin. “We’ll walk you to class! Do you come here everyday for your lunch?” 

She was stunned staring at him with wide eyes, before she smiled and nodded as they started walking out the room. Akaashi fell into step on the other side of her. 

“This thing is seriously heavy, do you carry this all the time?” The horned owl was surprised at how heavy it was, even though it looked heavy, it still surprised him the weight of the instrument. 

“Yea but I’m kinda used to it.” She stopped suddenly looking to the side with a blush. “ Hey, would you guys mind if I give you my number?” 

Both men glanced at each other, Akaashi with a small smile and Bokuto with a grin. 

“Not at all. Then we can text you when we have our break and eat lunch with you. We can have dinner and a show!” Bokuto barked laughing at his joke while Akaashi just rolled his eyes, holding out his phone for her to quickly type in her number. 

“I’ll make a group chat for us.” Akaashi mumbled once they started walking again. The two remained silent as Bokuto went on about volleyball with her occasionally commenting here and there. It felt good for her being around him and Akaashi, Bokuto’s vibrant personality put her at ease, apparently the extrovert was adopting himself another introvert and he didn’t even realize it. 

They all stopped in front of her class room, Bokuto handing her back her Cello, with a grin. 

“Thank you guys! I’ll see you tomorrow I suppose?” She tilted her head at her question receiving an excited nod from the white haired teen and a bride nod from the other. 

“Yep! Text us when you get home okay? We’ll talk to you later. Say-Say!” With that the three parted ways, Bokuto grinning, Akaashi smiling softly, and Sadine watched them run down the hall quickly with a smile on her face. Her first friends in japan and they hadn’t judged her at all. It was nice.


	2. Mangy Cat

“Where the hell are you two going again?” Kuroo asked as he watched the Ace and setter duo walking off with food. Bokuto seemed to be carrying an extra plate with him once more. This had been going on the past two days and the curious cat wanted answers. 

“To meet up with Say-say!” Kuroo looked at Akaashi with a confused look, he had no idea who Bokuto was talking about. 

“A classmate of yours we met a few days ago. We’ve been having lunch with her while she’s on break from her supplementary classes.” Kuroo blinked, confused, a classmate of his? Going through supplementary classes? That didn’t make any sense; all of his classmates had passed their exams. 

“Like a second year, or she’s actually in my class?” He tilted his head confused. 

“No! She’s actually in your class, she said she’s never talked to you though, so I doubt you know her!” Bokuto commented holding the plates up, when he suddenly grinned as if he had a great idea. “Hey! Why don’t you come with us! I’m sure she wouldn’t care.” 

“Bokuto, are you sure about that?” Akaashi being the sensible one of the two asked. While he didn’t really think she would care, he also knew how uneasy she was about her fellow students, it was probably why she got along with the two of them, she knew from the start there were no hidden intentions at the offered friendship between the two males and herself. 

“Yea, I trust Kuroo.” Bokuto surprisingly understood what Akaashi was implying, catching Kuroo off guard. Whoever this chick was, Bokuto had a soft spot for her. “If anyone at Nekoma should be her friend it should be him, or Kenma. She’d probably get along with Kenma actually.” Bokuto snickered looking over at the setter who was ignoring the entire conversation. 

“If you say so, but we should go. She’s been waiting, and we still need to get her banana milk.” 

“Yea yea, you coming?” Kuroo glanced down at his plate, before quickly grabbing it and following after the pair. Dragging Kenma behind him as well. His curiosity got the better of him at this point. 

It was about five minutes later, when they turned down a hallway he recognized that he heard the music. 

“Piano.” Akaashi tilted his head. 

“You didn’t even give me a chance to guess!” Bokuto pouted glaring down at the smaller male. 

“You haven’t guessed any of them yet.” 

“Well, yesterday I was close! It sounded just like her cello. It’s impossible to tell the difference.” 

They opened the door without hesitation, walking in like they were used to having this conversation, which they clearly were. Kuroo paused in the doorway once he realized they were inside the music room. His eyes darted to the figure sitting at the piano in her Nekoma uniform. He almost didn’t recognize her, she was wearing thick framed glasses. 

“Oh! Say-Say! You look good with glasses!” Bokuto barked out his greeting commenting on the same thing Kuroo had noticed. He scrunched up his brow in confusion. Bokuto was talking to her as if she could understand him. 

“Bokuto she doe-

“Thank you, Koko, my eyes were drying out from wearing contacts for too long last night. I might have stayed up late reading.” She smiled, raising her head from the keys she had been focused on, pausing in her song, and looking at the males that now occupied the room with her. When her eyes met Kuroo’s they widened briefly before looking at Akaashi for an answer. He simply glanced at Bokuto, as if the action answered her question. 

“Wait! You speak Japanese?!” Kuroo finally stepped out of his stupor, having been momentarily shocked at the fact, the new girl everyone said didn’t know an ounce of Japanese spoke it fluently. 

“She also speaks, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and English.” Bokuto proudly commented holding his head high, as he remembered this fact about her, while holding out his second plate for her to grab. Akaashi coming forward and placing three cartons of banana milk on the top of the piano. 

“I’m impressed you remembered that.” She chuckled, sticking her tongue out at Bokuto as she teased him. Akaashi smiled at her patting her head as he moved to sit beside her on the bench. Bokuto however, pouted at her, slouching his shoulders.

“That’s just mean, Say-say.” Kuroo watched as she bit her lip trying to hold her laughter in as she opened her arms for the much larger male. Who quickly grinned and fell into her arms as she hugged him patting his head affectionately. 

“I’m still confused.” Kuroo mumbled, Kenma who was looking up from his game for once tilted his head. 

“Sadine,” Kenma began stepping past Kuroo putting his game away. Her head snapped up at his voice and she smiled. “How are your classes going?” 

“They’re going great! Did you finish that game I gave you yet?” Kuroo’s head whipped back and forth between the two. He was in the twilight zone, Kenma was talking to someone and putting away his game to do so. She was speaking fluent Japanese. None of this made sense. 

“No, I’m stuck on one level.” 

“Okay! Someone explain to me what the fuck is going on!” Kuroo flailed, his arms confused. Sadine watched the action and chuckled. 

“Sadine is the neighbor I told you about.” Kenma mumbled, rolling his eyes at his much larger friend. 

“That doesn’t explain the Japanese!” HIs head was starting to hurt as he tried to put the pieces together. 

“What are you talking about?” Kenma asked, his brow slightly scrunched in confusion. 

“Everyone told me not to talk to her because she didn’t know Japanese yet! And here she is speaking it plain as day!” 

“She’s always known Japanese, You’re all just idiots and didn’t bother to even ask. How else do you think she passed her exams?” Kuroo blinked, he hadn’t even thought of that. 

“Wait, but you’re here for classes.” He looked up at her finding the trio on the piano bench watching the Nekoma boys with various amused looks. 

“I missed a month of school since I moved here from Italy, It was mainly due to paperwork so I have to make up some of the course work in order to maintain my standing.” She explained smoothly, Kuroo nodded his head. That actually made sense. 

“Well, I’m Kuroo Testuro, it’s nice to officially meet you.” He grinned at her, he would question Kenma more on his neighbor later. He would probably also ask the owl as well. 

“It’s nice to meet you too, uh…” She paused scrunching up her nose, before glancing at Akaashi. “See Kieji this is why I don’t like meeting new people, I don’t know how to greet them properly still.” She whined, the younger male chuckled. 

“Just give the big cat a stupid name. It fits him.” Bokuto laughed, Kuroo seemed to catch on to her delima as he chuckled himself. 

“You can just call me Testuro, if you want. It’s probably still confusing for you with the endings and such.” 

“Not so much, it just….san feels too formal, Chan or kun make me feel like a chibi from an anime.” Her cheeks turned pink, as a mischievous grin suddenly came across Kuroo’s features unsettling her slightly. 

“Is that so...Chibi-Chan?” He sang the name as he leaned forward with his hands on his hips smiling wickedly. He had to admit the look of absolute disgust that covered her face then was cute. He couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping his throat. 

“Mangy Cat.” He heard her mumble, as she started to eat her food. Bokuto was laughing along with Kuroo at the nickname he gave her. Kenma only sighed, pulling out his game once more before taking a seat at one of the desks. 

“Anyway, Sadine,” Akaashi said, pulling her attention toward him. “What were you up reading last night?” 

“Oh, Volleyball.” She shrugged as if that was all she needed to say. The three males that weren’t absorbed into a game suddenly blinked at her. Causing her to pause, with her mouth slightly open as she prepared to put food in it. Her eyes moved between the three of them. “What?” 

The owl leaned in towards her face, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Are you learning about Volleyball because of us?” 

Kuroo moved to sit on a chair that was near the piano, placing his plate on it, leaning his head onto his right hand as he watched her, he himself was curious. 

“Well, yea. How else am I going to understand some of the things you say? I don’t like not understanding something and the only way to understand it is to learn about it.” She was honestly confused, why they all seemed so intrigued with her learning about volleyball. She didn’t really see the big deal in learning about the sport that her new friends played. 

“Why didn’t you just ask me? I could’ve explained it to you!” 

“I honestly didn’t want to bother you,” Sadine took a bite of her food pausing. “Plus I knew if I got you started you would’ve stayed up all night explaining things to me and you need your sleep.” 

“What did you read?” Akaashi asked her, it was somewhat comforting to him to know that the girl was going out of her way to learn things that her friends were interested in. Not many people would go to such lengths and Akaashi felt touched by that. A part of him though also wondered if it was due to the years of not having close relationships that when she found people she felt comfortable with she went above and beyond to show them how important they were to her. 

“I was mainly reading up on the different positions, like wing spiker, setter, middle blocker, and libero.” As she lifted off the positions she would raise a finger counting the positions off on her hand. “I honestly find libero the most interesting, but the different styles of blocking is pretty interesting.” 

Now Kuroo was intrigued as they were talking about his area. “What styles are you talking about?” He questioned the girl, it was more so a test to see how far into her reading she had gone. He wasn’t expecting her to know much. 

“Well there’s,” she tilted her head back, tapping her finger on her chin, before making eye contact with the golden eyed boy who was watching her closely. He didn’t miss the slight narrowing of her eyes before the look went away and he briefly wondered what that was for. “ Read blocking, guess blocking, time blocking, then you have your soft block, swing block, cross block, and line blocking.” 

Kuroo and the others were looking at her impressed, she had learned all of that in a matter of days. While most people wouldn’t learn it until they were forced to. 

She waved her hand at them, dismissing herself by the action. “Don’t think too much about it, while I understand basic application does not mean I am physically capable or even able to distinguish the differences if I saw them without practice.” 

“Chibi-chan, is a major bookworm I see.” Kuroo snickered. Sadine rolled her eyes at him before sharpening her gaze on the cat with a hint of mischief. 

“Says the one that can sing the periodic table.” Kuroo didn’t miss the smirk that was sent to him from over her shoulder by Akaashi, or how Bokuto nearly choked on his own food as he laughed. He glanced at Kenma who sat beside him only to see the gamer smirking slightly at his screen. 

“I thought we were friends?” He pouted at her comically. 

“I can’t be friends with a mangy cat. You need to be house trained first.” She pointed at him with a smirk on her tinted lips. Kuroo could tell by the sparkle in her eyes she was having fun teasing him. He couldn’t help the chuckle that came out of his mouth as he observed her. 

“Say-say,” Bokuto said, tilting his head at her while giving her his best attempt at a puppy dog face. “Play something for me?” 

Sadine’s eyes softened at the childish behavior of the owl. Since she had met him a few days ago she couldn’t help but feel deeply drawing to the magnetic pull he had. He was so bright and carefree with a big smile on his face that she was envious of. She wished at times she could be like Bokuto and just let loose. She had also picked up on his mood swings having witnessed it once the day before when he was talking about their practice. It was then that she decided that she would do anything to make sure he kept that big smile on his face. 

“Of course, Koko.” She stood up from her seat, lifting up the boxes of milk from the top of the piano and the plates. Akaashi was quick to take them from her hands, placing them on a nearby desk. 

They watched as she breathed deeply once she was settled onto the bench, her eyes closed as she thought of what she wanted to play. She kept her slender fingers hovering over the keys. It was like she left their world for a moment and then when her fingers tapped the first note she rejoined them. Her fingers flew over the keys not missing a beat, the melody flowing smoothly. None of them recognized the song, but the feeling it gave was full of happiness and joy. It’s up beat tempo floating through the music room. As she played a smile formed on her lips as she bobbed her head slightly with the beat of the music she was playing. 

As Kuroo watched her he understood why Bokuto had been drawn to her. He thought back to all the times in class he had caught glances of her. She was so reserved, like she was keeping everyone and everything at a distance. Her eyes had held a blank look in them, but now watching her interact with all of them and playing her music he understood. She was free without pressures or worries and this was who she truly was, everything else had been an act. 

As the last note was played Kuroo decided then and there he would get to know Sadine. Not just for his own curiosity but so that maybe one day she’d be able to walk around with her carefree smile and sparkling eyes for everyone to see. Whether than the obvious walls she kept up to keep others at a distance for whatever reason.


	3. Change of Plans?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well her day didn't start as she planned, and well it definitely didn't end like she thought it would either. But one thing was for sure after today she was getting them both a fucking bell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to post another chapter throughout the week, I do work, but most of the time I can work on chapters at my desk since we aren't really busy most of the time. Hope you enjoy it <3
> 
> Also ask me why my computer wants to change her name to Sabine? Le sigh. 
> 
> Please forgive my humor also....

“Morning, Dad.” Sadine greeted her father who stood by the counter of their kitchen sipping on his coffee. Sadine’s father looked like your average American male, dark hair, dark eyes, cream skin, average in height, average build. Everything about Ryan Anderson was average, aside from his mind. Sadine knew for a fact her father was well above intelligent. When it came to languages he was a genius able to pick up on a language as easy as he read a book and he highlighted his gift with his job. 

“Morning, Sadie.” His voice was still gruff from sleep as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. The two were close, despite how often her father was gone due to the demands of his work. He always made sure to spend time with her even if he had to sacrifice a few hours of sleep to do so. It was these simple things that made her truly appreciate everything he does for her. 

It had been hard for the two since her mother had passed away several years ago, but their relationship did not suffer in the slightest from it. If anything they grew closer due to the common ground of their loss and the memories they shared as a family and with her mother. 

“What are you doing today, Dad?” The teenager asked grabbing an orange from the basket that sat on the counter before situating herself on the barstool. 

The silence that followed her question was deafening and the only answer she needed. She groaned slamming her head down on the countertop displaying her annoyance. Her father sheepishly chuckled scratching the back of his head looking anywhere but at his daughter. 

“I’m sorry, I got called in earlier.” He reached over to give her a comforting pat on her head. Sadine hated it when their plans were canceled because of his work but she was also a realistic person. She didn’t hold it against him, his job after all provided for the two of them it was a sacrifice that they both had to deal with. 

“I guess, I’ll just play today. I haven’t played my Cello since my supplementary classes ended last week.” Her response was meant as a dismissal but her father knew that it was just her attempt to ease his guilt. His dark eyes softened at her words, she was never a demanding child and always seemed to understand when he was called in on days he was supposed to be off. Though her reassurance really did nothing to get rid of the guilt he felt deep inside. Sometimes he wondered if the lack of presence in her life affected her even if she refused to show it. 

“You haven’t shown me any new songs lately, maybe later tonight when I get home you can show me what you’ve been practicing?” The sound of hope in his voice caused her to look up at him with her breathtaking smile. 

“Of Course, I’d love nothing more.” 

-

-

-

A deep sigh left Sadine’s lips as she sat down on the steps of her small porch. The shade of the awning provided her with just enough reprieve from the heat of the sun. Sure she could’ve been inside playing in the comfort of the air condition but the fresh air felt good on her skin compared to the stuffy air of the house. The sounds of passing cars filled the silence that would’ve been inside her home. 

The metal strings of her cello pressed into her fingers as she subconsciously squeezed the neck of her precious instrument. No matter how much she tried to hide behind her smiles the loneliness never seemed to leave her. She had to remind herself that this was only temporary, she’d make friends and have people to spend time with it was the same routine after all. Granted she did have friends now but they didn’t leave near her and she didn’t want to bother them they weren’t that close despite having spent nearly every day together, over a two-week period. But friendships don’t form overnight they take time just like any relationship. 

Shaking her head to rid herself of her thoughts she picked up her bow. Inhaling deeply grounded her mind and body preparing herself for what she was about to do. Like every other time, she played her mind went blank the moment her bow touched the strings. All she could see behind her closed eyelids were the notes flying as her fingers and arm work together to produce the sounds of the melody she wanted. 

The sound flowed that the streets like a trail of water, the music carrying with it the emotions of the musician who played it. The familiar tones of the instrument caught the attention of two teenage boys stepping out of a house not too far from the source. Two pairs of golden eyes glanced at each other, one raising a brow in curiosity the other turning immediately in the direction of the melody. 

Kuroo followed behind Kenma for once with his hands in the pockets of his shorts. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was playing their instrument outside even with the heat of the summer. There was only one person they knew who lived close enough to them to play music as they heard and the familiar notes they had grown accustomed to not too long ago. 

Kenma stopped just before the gate of an unfamiliar house to the mangy cat. The source was louder than it was a few houses back. He hadn’t been looking where he was going obviously familiar with the house he was looking for. This raised a question in Kuroo’s mind how often had Kenma been to Sadine’s house? 

While his eyes had originally been focused on his smaller counterpart when he came to a stop beside him his gaze shifted to the girl who had dived deep into the music she was playing. He could tell by the scrunch of her brow and the way her tongue poked out from between her lips she had focused her energy into the piece entirely, shutting out the world around her with only the goal of producing a melody. 

“She seems sad,” Kenma mumbled under his breath but just loud enough for the bedhead to hear him. Kuroo himself wasn’t so sure the time they had spent together with Bokuto and Akaashi during the training camp didn’t really reveal much about Sadine. He knew that she enjoyed music, she was a fast learner, she had a sharp tongue, she liked to laugh and joke, but other than that none of them had dug deep into their beings. He assumed from the cautious glances Akaashi would throw her every now and then or the way Bokuto clung to her like a child they knew more than him but he couldn’t tell. After all, Akaashi was naturally a caring person just like Bokuto was an overgrown child. 

“Why do you say that?” If he was expecting a response Kenma did not provide one, only a glance from the corner of his sharp gaze before those ever seeing eyes focused back on the blue-eyed girl. That question popping up in his mind again, just how close was Sadine and Kenma. 

The gamer reached over the small gate easily opening it for the two to walk through, without asking. Kuroo didn’t move though of all the things he knew about Sadine, he knew she had boundaries and walls if he wanted to get to know her as a friend he could not risk invading her space even if Kenma didn’t seem to have an issue with it. 

“Sadine,” Kenma interrupted without any regard to her focus. The sound of his voice snapped Sadine out of her head immediately. She dropped her bow in fright as her back snapped straight before she settled her eyes on the blank ones of her neighbor. She had let out a startled screech nearly jumping out of her own skin. The whole episode had Kuroo bent over clutching his stomach belting out his iconic hyena laugh. 

“Don’t do that!” She finally managed to gasp out, the hand that wasn’t holding onto her Cello came to rest over her chest. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage. 

“Oya! Oya! Chibi-chan,” He snickered, “You okay there?” 

Kenma rolled his eyes at the middle blocker, even though he understood the amusement. He had felt his own lips twitch at how startled she was. 

“Shut up! You stupid cats need a damn bell!” 

“Sorry, Sadine.” The youngest of the trio finally said even though he didn’t feel sorry at all. He had this feeling if he didn’t interrupt her they would have never gotten her attention. She would’ve been lost to the sheets of music flipping through her mind’s eye. 

“Why did you scare me like that?” 

“You didn’t even notice us watching you, how else were we supposed to get your attention?” He blinked at her. She raised an eyebrow normally she was still somewhat aware of her surroundings but she had been so focused on trying to form the new piece that she supposed she had drowned out everything around her. 

“We’re headed to the arcade if you want to join us?” Kuroo called out from her gate, he made a motion with his head towards Kenma before he continued on. “It’s the only way I can get him out of the house.” 

As she opened her mouth to decline, Kenma shook his head. He carefully grabbed the neck of her instrument pulling it out of her grasp. “You owe me a game.” He mumbled, which was true. He had helped her get past one of the games she had been working on for a while just a few days ago. Even though she let him borrow games in return, he had asked her briefly to play with her one day. Though she didn’t think much about it at the time, apparently Kenma had been completely serious and he was cashing in. 

Sadine narrowed her eyes in suspicion but her look was only returned with a blank one from the gamer. She couldn’t tell if he had another reason or not for his actions and she would never find out. Kenma was skilled at hiding his thoughts when he wanted to she knew that much. 

“Fine, let me put my stuff away.” 

The two boys shared a look as she walked back into her house with her things. Kenma’s face didn’t say much but the arrogant smirk on Kuroo’s face spoke volumes. Kenma wasn’t sure if Kuroo would have picked up on his intentions but the rooster had understood exactly what he was doing the moment he opened her gate. He appreciated it more than Kuroo understood, he just hoped the idiot didn’t push her buttons too much today. 

-

-

-

“You failed to mention how you hold almost every high score in the place.” The quip was ignored by the blonde who simply stood at the machine hitting the buttons with a neutral expression. He could feel her sharp eyes narrowed on him though, and the chuckle from his other side confirmed it. 

The trio hadn’t been at the arcade for more than ten minutes when the American had quickly realized something odd about the gaming boards for the popular games. It was a Gamertag she had seen before and she immediately put two and two together. Which was how Kenma found himself the victim of her icey eyes. 

“You didn’t ask.” He shrugged his reply, which was followed by a huff from the girl. Her gaze drifted from him looking around the games. There was a large variety of games from driving, shooting, standard Pac man, you name it there was a game there. Not that she expect anything less from a Tokyo arcade. However, when her eyes landed on a certain game her eyes sparkled. 

Tetsurou who had been looking at his phone noticed her posture shift from the corner of his eye. He tilted his head in curiosity watching the mischievous grin that covered her features as she looked at something in the distance. When he turned to look for the source though she was turning her attention back to the blonde. 

“Ohhh, Kenmaaaa.” The exaggeration of her words added with a whine contrasted with the grin on her face. The male she was calling glanced at her briefly narrowing her eyes at the look he had only witnessed a few times when she was up to no good in a game. 

“Whatever it is, no.” Kuroo was watching this exchange with an amused look. Kenma had straightened his spine the moment he made eye contact with her and Kuroo knew from experience he was on edge. The taller male though didn’t fully understand what was happening Sadine had never been like this when they were together at school and he wanted to know what was going through her head.

“But Kenmaaa, you said you wanted to play a game with me.” The setter’s fingers paused briefly in their actions of the buttons he was hitting when he heard her words. He had dragged her out under the pretense that he wanted to play games with her. It hadn’t sat well with him the aura of melancholy she had surrounded herself with when they caught her play. 

He sighed, “After this.” She immediately jumped pumping her fist in the air with child-like glee. Kuroo was once again chuckling at the girl, apparently, she was a complex creature with different sides to her personality she only showed in given situations. He was learning more about her now more than he had when the group had been in the music room during their lunch break. 

“You’re playing too.” She poked his chest smirking up at him. 

“You trying to get your ass kicked, Chibi-chan?” He cooed back leaning closer to her face returning the smirk with his own. 

“Wanna bet, Mangy Cat?” 

“Name your bet.” His smirk growing with his confidence. Maybe if he had been paying attention to Kenma he would’ve seen the warning glance that was thrown in his direction, but his focus was on the black-haired girl in front of him. 

“You have to buy me food for a week, and stop calling me Chibi-chan.” She poked her tongue out at him. 

“I’ll buy you food for a week and banana milk. But I still get to call you Chibi-chan, cause you are a chibi.” He poked her nose resulting in her scrunching up her face in annoyance. Sadine rolled her eyes at him but nodded her head none the less. 

“Whatever, what do you want?” 

He leaned back putting his hands on his hips as he tilted his head to look up at the ceiling of the arcade. What did he want from her? He didn’t really want anything other than to get to know her better she intrigued him. He blinked his gold eyes as a thought occurred to him. 

“Twenty free questions at any time and you have to answer them.” He held up his finger pointing at her quickly shutting down any protest. He could see the cogs in her head-turning she was weighing the pros and cons in her head. 

“Alright deal, but,” She paused holding up her finger indicating she had one question. “I can choose to answer at a later time when I’m more comfortable.” 

“You have to answer within a week.” He compromised understanding why she would say that but he had to make it known that there was a time limit otherwise he feared she would never answer the question. 

He watched her carefully as she thought it over pursing her lips in thought. Until she finally held her hand out to shake on the deal. Kenma who had finished his game already just shook his head at the two. He wasn’t going to give in to their childishness. 

“What game, Sadine?” Kenma broke the competitive stare down that was going on between the two who were tightly gripping each other’s hands with smirks. 

The girl in question pulled her hand away grinning before running off in the direction she had been captivated by. Well, it was more so her skipping to the machine than running which earned her an amused look from the big cat and another sigh from Kenma. 

If you had asked either of them what game they expected her to be so happy about neither one of them would have said the game they were currently standing in front of. Kuroo blinked before his mind processed what he was looking at and he laughed. 

“Of course, leave it to the American to be excited about a shooting game with zombies.” He snickered down at her with his signature mischievous smile. He was pushing her buttons and he was easily rewarded with narrowed eyes glaring at him with distaste. 

“I don’t know if I’m deeply insulted or want to laugh.” She quipped and he could tell as her lip twitched a part of her was amused by his comment. Sadine looked at Kenma who stepped up to one of the guns, there were four guns for the game allowing them all to play together instead of taking turns. “You want in on the bet?” 

“No.” The answer was immediate and the other two glanced at each other shrugging. It just meant it didn’t matter if Kenma beat the two of them as long as one of them outdid the other their bet was still on between the two. 

Once the game began they each zoned out their focus only on killing the zombies that came across their screens. The battle to win had the two shooting glares and smirks as they would take each other’s kills from time to time. The both of them ignoring the blonde who would send them occasional glances or roll his eyes at their antics. 

“Why am I friends with you two?” Kenma drawled as he put the gun back in place once the “Game Over” screen appeared. 

“Because we’re entertaining?” Even Sadine didn’t have a good answer for his question and chuckled under her breath sending him a sheepish look. Kuroo just shrugged used to the comments Kenma would throw his way. 

“You ready to lose Chibi-chan?” Kuroo asked while resting his elbow on top of her head. 

“Fuck you, damn cat, I’m not losing.” They were after all waiting for their scores to load, which just so happened to load the moment she finished her statement. The girl didn’t even need to turn her head to see the grin that was pointed down at her. 

“What was that? I thought you said you weren’t going to lose, Chibi-chan?” The conniving asshole all but sang in her ear. He was enjoying his win far too much, and well she was contemplating her decisions in life. Because in that very moment she regretted every action that led her here. She could’ve even say anything back to him she only pouted staring at the screen that had revealed her fate. 


End file.
